Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02333357

Multimedia Toolkits to Implement 12-Step Recovery Concepts in Group Counseling

This study is developing and testing a 12-step toolkit with five modules, training counselors to use them, and studying their frequency of use, desirability, effectiveness and patient outcomes. The toolkit includes counselor written guides, posters, client worksheets, engagement activities, and videos designed to be shown during substance abuse treatment group sessions to explain and encourage 12-step participation.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Abuse Alcohol-Related Disorders Alcoholism Chemically-Induced Disorders Drug Abuse Mental Disorders Substance-Related Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Genesis Counseling Centers, Camden, New Jersey, United States

Loading trial locations.

About this study

The study has three aims. Aim 1 involves the development of an evidence-based 12-step facilitation toolkit curriculum. Toolkit structure and content is grounded in theory and empirical findings, and incorporates feedback from 12-step facilitation experts and individuals with a history of substance abuse. Aim 2 consists of implementing the resulting five-module Toolkit in a multi-site randomized controlled trial using a pre-/post-Toolkit training design that includes 1- and 6-month post-training assessments. Group counselors employed at community-based outpatient and inpatient substance abuse treatment programs will be randomly assigned to a Toolkit or treatment-as-usual condition. Data obtained from audiotaped sessions will identify between group differences in counselor adherence to 12-step content and skillfulness. Additional data will be collected on counselor satisfaction, 12-step attitudes and beliefs, and 12-step knowledge, as well as on Toolkit acceptability, feasibility, and short-term sustainability. Aim 3 will determine whether exposure to the Toolkit curriculum results in stable 12-step involvement and decreased self-reported substance use among clients.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

for Counselors:

  • Over 18 years of age
  • Employed at a participating substance abuse treatment facility
  • Provide treatment in a group format

Exclusion criteria

for Counselors:

  • At the time of the project they do not have primary responsibility for conducting at least three substance abuse group sessions per week
  • Their therapy group is normally scheduled to run less than 50 minutes, or more than 150 minutes
  • Unable to provide valid informed consent

Inclusion criteria

for Clients:

  • Over 18 years of age
  • Attending an observed group of a participating counselor
  • (For participation in the Follow-Up Study/Aim 3 only) patients must endorse heavy drinking, alcohol-related difficulties, or poor prior 12-step participation

Exclusion criteria

for Clients:

  • Unable to provide valid informed consent

Treatment and study plan

Multimedia 12-Step Toolkit

Behavioral

The Multimedia 12-Step Toolkit includes counselor written guides, posters, client worksheets, engagement activities, and videos designed to be shown during group treatment sessions to explain and encourage 12-step participation.

Treatment as Usual

Behavioral

Treatment as Usual is defined as five standard 12-step facilitation group sessions as counselors would normally conduct with their clients.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in counselor content adherence from baseline, as measured by the Group Observation Rating System

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Counselor adherence to 12-step concepts covered in group sessions assessed using the Group Observation Rating System which consists of items designed to assess general counseling competency skills and 12-step facilitation items

  2. Change in counselor therapeutic skillfulness from baseline, as measured by the Group Observation Rating System

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Counselor therapeutic skillfulness when delivering 12-step content in group sessions assessed using the Group Observation Rating System which consists of items designed to assess general counseling competency skills and 12-step facilitation items

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in counselor satisfaction from baseline, as measured by the Counselor Satisfaction Form

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Counselor satisfaction with their group sessions as measured by the Counselor Satisfaction Form which assesses counselors' overall satisfaction with the five 12-step groups

  2. Change in counselor 12-step attitudes and beliefs from baseline, as measured by the Counselor 12-Step Attitudes and Beliefs Scale

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Counselor attitudes and beliefs about 12-step recovery and self-help approaches as measured by the Counselor 12-step Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (C-TAB) which queries about current 12-step referral practices, attitudes and beliefs about 12-step recovery and self-help approaches in general, strategies used to assist clients in engaging in the 12-step fellowship, and level of agreement with specific statements about 12-step groups

  3. Change in counselor 12-step knowledge from baseline, as measured by the Counselor Core Elements of 12-step Knowledge Inventory

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Counselor knowledge about 12-step concepts as measured by the Counselor Core Elements of 12-step Knowledge Inventory (C-CETSKI), which focuses on the five toolkit content areas

  4. Change in counselor feasibility and sustainability of the toolkit from baseline, as measured by a bi-weekly web-based calendar

    Time frame: 0, 1, 6 months

    Feasibility and short-term sustainability will be measured via a web-based calendar which measures the type and frequency of the 12-step topics and toolkit materials counselors have used

  5. Change in client involvement in 12-step activities from baseline, as measured by the Patient AA Attendance and Involvement Scale

    Time frame: 0, 2, 4, 12, 24 weeks

    Number of 12-step meetings attended and engagement in other 12-step activities as measured by the Patient AA Attendance and Involvement Scale (PAIS) which assesses 12-step recovery activities

  6. Change in client substance use from baseline, as measured by the Substance Use Inventory

    Time frame: 0, 2, 4, 12, 24 weeks

    Self-reported alcohol and drug use as measured by the Substance Use Inventory (SUI), which is a modification of the Time-Line Follow-back Method in which a rater elicits frequency (in days) of consumption of alcohol and other illicit drugs as well as an estimate of average intensity of use

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Treatment Research Institute

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2011
Primary completion
2015
Study completion
2015
First posted
Jan 7, 2015
Registry last updated
Mar 28, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.